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Picture of the day -
December 24, 2005
F/A-18 Hornet Breaking The Sound Barrier
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy.
Like most people, you have probably heard a sonic boom at least once in
your lifetime, but very few people ever have the opportunity to actually see
an aircraft create one. Today's picture will change that...
A sonic boom occurs when an object breaks the sound barrier. As the object travels through the air, the air is
condensed into sound waves that extend out from the object in a manner similar
to the wake created by a boat moving across water.
If the object is traveling faster than the speed of sound, the sound waves that
normally would have "passed" the object are "stacked up" behind it until the
combined pressure of the waves reaches the release point. At that point
in time
the pressure is suddenly released - and we hear the resulting sonic boom. An
aircraft typically must reach 750 miles per hour in order to create a sonic
boom!
Today's picture shows an F/A 18 Hornet actually breaking the sound barrier. The
prevailing theory regarding the cause of the unusual cloud is that as the plane
approached the speed of sound, the drop in air pressure at the aircraft caused
the moist air to condense there - forming thousands of water droplets!
So the next time you hear a sonic boom, you can tell the person next to you that
you have actually seen one being created...in today's Picture Of The Day!
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